Type: Retail

Size: 163,430 square feet

Developer: Hom Furniture Inc.

Architect: Archnet USA

Details: Two sizable but aging retail buildings fronting Interstate 494 in Bloomington are due for extensive makeovers under new plans submitted by their owner, Coon Rapids-based Hom Furniture.

Parts of the adjacent structures at 7800 and 7850 Dupont Av. S. date back 60 years. Despite their strategic location in the southeast quadrant of the I-494/I-35W interchange, they are generally nondescript in appearance, offering mainly blank walls. But that would change under Hom's plans.

The furniture dealer has owned the two-story 7800 Dupont building for 25 years. Since 1993, it has also leased part of the one-story 7850 Dupont building next door, sharing it for much of that time with fellow tenant Golf Galaxy. In June, Hom purchased the building from Colorado-based Freeway Properties Inc. for $6.5 million, Hennepin County records show.

Hom Furniture founder Wayne Johansen told Bloomington city officials in November the plans include adding a second story to the 7850 building and fully integrating the structures into two contiguous floors — a process made more complicated due to the layering of five levels within the 7800 building over the years.

Also on the agenda is an extensive exterior remodeling of both buildings featuring metal wall panels, storefront glazing and stone veneer. The Bloomington City Council will consider the necessary site plan approvals and rezonings for the project at its Dec. 21 meeting.

Don Jacobson is a St. Paul-based freelance writer. He can be contacted at hotproperty.startribune@gmail.com.